After the suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv, Israel, the number of air routes affected by ongoing tensions in the Middle East is expanding. The changes, reports Corriere della Sera, concern primarily Jordan.
Distances increased by one hour
For a few days, British Airways flights, departing from London Heathrow, to arrive in Amman in Jordan, to avoid flying over Israel, have been turning towards the Sinai peninsula in Egypt, extending the journey time by about an hour. Same route for Wizz Air from Rome, Austrian Airlines from Vienna, Ryanair from Budapest.
But not only that: some companies, including EasyJet, have canceled routes from Europe to Aqaba, a tourist destination on the Red Sea in Jordan, for the entire winter period.
Half of flights canceled in Lebanon
The consequences of the conflict in Lebanon are more serious. More than half of the flights of the Lebanese national airline, Middle East Airlines (MEA), will be cancelled. This was communicated by the CEO of the MEA, Muhammad al Hout, stating that the decision was taken after the MEA’s insurance company announced that it had canceled the insurance coverage starting last Sunday. MEA has not yet announced which and how many flights will actually be cancelled. “I want to reassure you that no information indicates that (Beirut) airport will be bombed soon,” he told Hout, quoted by local media. “Our priority is to maintain connections between Lebanon and abroad.” In recent days the MEA had decided, as a precaution, to move five aircraft to Istanbul airport.
Source-tg24.sky.it